My Little Guardian Angel
by Heroofthe13thDay
Summary: Max takes it to hersef to help Tony survive from all the shrapnel in his heart. The question is, how much can she actually do? Ironman 2 movie. Sequel to Stalker in my walls.
1. Little House in the Mansion

**Finally was able to start the sequel. It may be longer, considering that this time there is going to be involvement in almost every part. I may start a series of drabbles of cute or funny moments of the series, but I don't know. On with the story!**

Life got weird but comfortable after being seen by both Tony and Pepper. A few days after Pepper had seen me, she was able to be on the same room with me without reaching to grab me as if I was made of glass. Seriously, that woman worried too much. I'm actually surprised that she hasn't died from a heart attack yet.

She was really nice to me afterwards. She actually took me shopping. Of course, it was in a toy store for doll clothes (she insisted) but it was a nice gesture. I was a little embarrassed when she made me try some frilly outfits that would have made me gag had I seen myself in a mirror.

We finally came back to the mansion after Pepper had tripled checked that I had everything I could possibly need (plus some cool things). I was ready to head to my vents to sleep when Tony called us to go to the workspace with him since he had a surprise for me. I was kinda worried of the surprise he had prepared while we were gone. Surprises in the Stark mansion was the definition for unexpected-and-acting-as-if-it-was-planned-all-along. It usually came with bad consequences.

Pepper carried me down on her shoulder. I asked her to do this since all day I was in her purse and a female Bean's purse is somewhere that I'll never _ever _return to. Once we were down, Tony was standing in front a suspicious lump covered by a blanket.

"So, the shopping spree went great?" He was really sheepish which made Pepper _very _suspicious.

"Yes it did. Now what is this surprise you wanted to show us?"

Tony suddenly grinned and got all excited and bouncy like a gigantic 5 year old. It was truly terrifying.

"You see, while you were out spending half of my fortune on miniaturized crap, I was busy. Really busy."

He then approached the suspicious lump and tore the blanket off. I blinked in surprise because there was a dollhouse that looked _exactly _like the Stark mansion. It was in perfect proportion for a Borrower and I was speechless.

Pepper was also impressed and Tony was smiling as if Christmas came early this year.

"Come on, try it!"

Pepper shook out of her stupor and lifted an upturn hand in front of me. I walked to it and she placed me in front of the doors. I went and opened them. I had never opened a door, after all I was barely able to push them, let alone turn a knob. I entered and when I looked around I could see that the inside held furniture and decoration that was similar to the actual ones in the real size mansion. I walked around the living room and there was a plasma in front of me.

"Pretty neat, huh?" I turned and a gigantic brown eye was staring at me through the glass wall. "Come on, try the appliances. They all work."

I went to the kitchen and started trying the stove. It lit up a tiny flame and the oven worked too. The fridge was also functioning, but it didn't have any food inside.

"Wow, Tony this time you really outdone yourself." It wasn't me who said that, but Pepper. She must have seen the rest of the house and when I turned to where Tony's eye had been gazing in, Pepper's eye stood instead. She was inspecting every detail in the room and stopped to where I was.

"Yeah, I mean this is incredibly well done. You made everything yourself?" I heard rumbling outside and realized that it was Tony scuffing indignantly.

"Seriously, you doubt my awesomeness? This was nothing. These hands have made smaller complicated thing."

I rolled my eyes and then turned the TV on. It worked perfectly. Ironically, 'Honey, I shrunk the kids' started playing so I turned it off.

I walked up the stairs and walked to the nearest door. When I opened it, I gasped. It was a bedroom, and inside was a king size bed with blue covers. There was a dresser in the corner to the right and a working desk with a laptop on top. There was also a beanie in one corner and a plasma in front of the bed. The walls were white, as if waiting for me to decorate them. I was flabbergasted; I didn't know Tony was this considerate.

I heard fabric shifting outside and suddenly the same gigantic eye was staring at me through the window.

"Like the room?" When I nodded, the eye started inspecting everything in the room. "Everything has Wifi or cable and the mansion sustains itself. There's water running and everything that's in an actual house. So, wanna move in?"

While I could only see his eye, I could tell he was nervous. I didn't understand why, this place was amazing! It was any Borrower's dream come true; owning a place and calling it yours. Plus, your daily necessities covered and not having to risk your life to survive were a big bonus. It was perfect.

"Of course I'm gonna move in or were you thinking in giving it to another Borrower?"  
"Borrower?" Oh shit. Well, what's done is done.

"It's the name of my people. We 'borrow' what we need from you humans, hence the name."

"So are there more of you out there?" I shuffled undecided to whether tell him or not, but he deserved to know. After all, I was standing in a replica of _his _mansion _inside _his mansion.

"Yeah, but usually we're hiding from humans to avoid being crushed, experimented on or trapped as pets." Tony's eye widened from either amazement of knowing of my race or horror of knowing what humans did that to us.

I went to open the balcony door and Tony's eye retreated. I came out and waved to the crouching Tony and Pepper that were outside. They waved back and Tony placed his hand in front of the balcony so I could climb on it.

"Where do you want us to place it? I was thinking of putting it in one of the bedrooms so to avoid any prying people that come here."

"One of the bedrooms is alright."

Tony then raised his hand to his shoulder and I walked over it. We had discovered that it was the best place for me to stand and I had grown accustomed to the bumpy ride that was a Bean walking. I walked and grabbed strands of his hair to have something to hold to so I wouldn't fall and become a smudge in the floor. I shuddered just in thinking about it.

Tony and Pepper each grabbed opposite sides of my new home and started walking towards one of the bedrooms. When we got there, they placed it near the window so I could have light inside and beside the bed so it would be partially covered.

Pepper then said goodbye and headed home. I began exploring the rest of the house with Tony following me by seeing through the windows. I was fascinated by the rest of the rooms, and when I was back in the living room I noticed that there were stairs heading to a sub level. Intrigued, I went down and when I reached the end of them, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Oh. My. God." Tony had integrated a working space in the basement of the mansion. I walked through the glass doors and started checking out what was inside the lab. There were tools that fitted perfectly in my hands and screens that were in scale for me. I felt tears running down my face and laughed. Tony was amazing. I quickly wiped my face clean and headed to the roof. I was confused when I didn't see Tony outside but looked up when I heard him talking.

"So, I guess you discovered the lab?" He was on the bed and was staring at me from the edge.

I nodded excited and went to lie on some roof-chairs.

"I love it." I smiled at him and he smiled back.

I was lying staring up at him and he was lying staring down at me. Never in a million years did I thought I would be in this position. I mean, how many Borrowers can say that they have a Bean friend and their own sustaining house? Not many.

"So, pizza for dinner?"

I grinned. "Sounds great."


	2. All in the Suit that You Wear

**I know this update came a little later than usual but I'm finally back on track! What with the holidays and everything, it was getting even more difficult to find time to write. **

I was working in my own lab when the Stark Expo began. As always, Tony was very dramatic, both in his entrance and speech. I was half listening when Jarvis told me that Pepper was here. I was reluctant to leave my work but I needed to talk to her. I left the lab through the garage exit and used the Ironman suit that I made for my personal use.

It had started as a challenge between Tony and me. He dared me to make an Ironman suit at my scale. Not only was it priceless the look on his face when he saw the miniaturized suit, it also proved very useful at times. It made it easier to go from room to room and defend myself.

I flew all the way to the living room and found Pepper with her phone. I landed on top of her head and sat on my legs. She barely made a movement of recognizing my presence there. Of course, I've been doing this for quite a while now, but the first time was hilarious.

"What do you need Pepper?"

She didn't stop walking but she did put down her Stark phone and began making her way to Tony's lab.

"Tony has a martial trial tomorrow because of the Ironman suit."

"Again?! Don't these people get that he's not going to start killing people randomly with his suit?" Because if he really wanted to, he could have done that _months _ago and no one would even acknowledge it was him.

She sighed and her head lowered a bit. "They just want to make sure that it's not going to be used as a weapon or sold as one. But frankly, I'm getting tired of them too."

Pepper went down and grabbed some things that I recognized as portable holo screens that were Tony's favorites. I flew off from her head and went to sit in her shoulder as she took them upstairs. Her hair sometimes surrounded me when she walked but I was used to it. Besides, I wanted a better position.

"Pepper, all this happening about the Ironman; is it really that dangerous to Tony? I mean with people trying to make their own suits and with him being all over the news…"

Her face turned to look at me and I could see her barely hidden preoccupation in her eyes. Maybe it was obvious to me considering that I could clearly watch my own reflection on them.

"Hey, this is Tony Stark we're talking about. Of course it's a little dangerous but nothing that he can't handle. In any case, he has the Ironman suit with him."

"Thanks Pepper, it's just that I worry about him." It felt good to open to someone who wasn't Jarvis for a change.

"Me too, Max, me too."

I flew away more convinced that I was just worrying too much and went back to my house. I hadn't even entered the room that contained it when Pepper reached her car outside.

_Line break_

I was watching the rerun of the Tony's trial and still couldn't stop laughing. When Justin Hammer was called forth for his 'professional' opinion on the Ironman suit, I instantly hated him. He was a cowardly hypocrite, and I felt so glad when Tony humiliated him on international TV. As I watched the rest of the footage in Tony's lab, Jarvis told me that Tony had returned. I knew he would come down so I didn't went upstairs to greet him.

Just as I predicted, his thundering steps were getting louder until I could see him through the glass doors.

"Your trial went well apparently." I told him in an amusing tone.

"What else did you expect? They had nothing against me, especially with the dumbasses they called forward. Even Dummy could make a better defense." In that moment Dummy looked up and started messing up with the lab. "Dummy, we're not actually… you know what, forget it."

"Have you taken your shake already?"

Tony groaned.

"Tony! It's for your health!" I flew off the table and landed beside the enormous blender. It was currently filled with a disgusting green substance, but it was the same one that held back the worst of his symptoms.

"Come on, drink it or I'll have to force it down your throat like last time."

He reluctantly came near and poured himself some. Droplets splashed me and his smirk proved that it wasn't accidental. I supervised as I dried myself that he drank all of it. I flew to his shoulder when he finished and sat with my legs hanging on the edge.

"See, it wasn't that difficult was it?" He glared as much as he could when only half his face was visible to me.

"Hate that stuff. How much do I need to drink daily Jarvis?"

"Two liters sir, to counteract with the increasing iron in your blood."

"Thanks, no need to remind me."

He went over and tested his blood. The percentage of metal that was leaking through his blood stream was getting higher, and that meant he was getting sicker.

Tony went over to the screens and viewed his Arc Reactor through schematics. Jarvis informed us that his Ironman suit was making his condition to accelerate at alarming rates and I was worried about him. He needed to replace the core of the Reactor, and their life span was getting shorter.

As he changed it, Jarvis gave him all the data about his condition. With every new bit of information, my concern grew.

"Sir, you're running out of options and time." Way to be encouraging Jarvis.

Tony had such a despaired look on his face that I couldn't resist to give him some sort of support. I rested my hand against his neck in an attempt of comfort, even if his neck was so much larger than my hand. "Hey, it's not all down the drain yet. We'll find a way; there are still a lot of things you haven't tried."

He sighed and the air rushing through his pipes was tangible underneath my hand.

"You're right kiddo, besides what sort of hero would I be if I gave up so easily?" He gave me a comforting smile, but I knew he wasn't as calm and collected as he seem.

Before I could say anything else, Pepper came down. Tony quickly muted Jarvis and put on his cool façade on. I hated when he acted like that, thinking that if he ignored the problem it would go away.

"Tony, what were you thinking?! Donating all of our modern art to the Boy Scouts of America?!"

"You did what!" He flinched at my voice getting louder near his ear.

"Careful! I still need to use this ear. Besides it would be very embarrassing to tell the world I was half deaf because some tiny chick yelled at my ear." I fumed; he knew it got to my nerves when he talked about my size.

Tony started walking and working on his screens while Pepper followed reprimanding him. He was going at a very fast pace and I was now bouncing in his shoulder and actually had to grip to his shirt to not fall off. He then actually went to hang a painting of Ironman. Like his ego needed more uplifting.

They were really loud that I flew off and went to Pepper instead because she wasn't about to jump to impulsive actions like Tony was about to do. I had barely got off his shoulder when he stood on a table and hung the painting. While mentally high fiving myself for my quick thinking, I was also concerned about what he was doing. He was becoming more impulsive and careless than ever before.

As Pepper continued to list all that he needed to do for the company, Tony said something that surprised us. He wanted to appoint Pepper as Stark Industries' CEO. The news were so out of the blue that Pepper was actually speechless, but snapped out of it when Tony handed her some champaign.

While Pepper was dumbfounded but excited with her new promotion, I was confused. It was until he began talking about his privileges when naming a successor that it downed on me what he was trying to do. He was preparing for his death, and this was more terrifying than seeing him almost die so many months ago. Unlike that time, he wasn't fighting to find a cure and it scared me for it meant that he was already giving up.

**The angst finally begins. Thanks to all those who are following or favoring this story! And thanks to Sunday Driver who reviewed! **


	3. New Girl in Town

**Sorry for the late update, all I can say is homework caught up with me. Shout out to followers, people who favorite this story and reviewers!**

"So, found your replacement yet?"

I was on Pepper's shoulder and was currently helping her choose who would be Tony's new P.A. It was almost impossible to find someone who was as good as Pepper since Tony was complicated to work with, to say the least.

"I've narrowed it to four potential candidates. These are the ones who would least present charges or end up as one night stands."

I sighed. "Even if I'm happy for your promotion, I can't imagine someone else doing what you do."

She smiled at me. "I know sweetie but Tony still needs someone to look after him to make sure he eats."

I was about to reply when I heard footsteps that weren't from Tony. I didn't have the suit on, but Pepper acted too fast for my likening. She grabbed me and put me inside her breast pocket.

"I'm sorry, did I come at a wrong time?"  
"No it's ok, I just hung up. Tony is currently available so you can have your interview now."

Pepper started walking and I had to cling into the fabric of her shirt to not bounce out of the pocket. Light flooded from the opening above me and I could only see Pepper's neck and chin. In all this time I have avoided as much as I could to be in the pocket of either Tony or Pepper so I wasn't used to be inside one.

We finally arrived and I enjoyed being still for the time being. As I suspected, Tony started hitting on the unknown woman. She turned out to be one of the candidates. When Tony got off of his boxing practice with Happy, Pepper warned him not to sexually harass the woman. He ignored her and instead stalked Natalie Rushman on the Internet. She was quite a woman from what I heard when suddenly I heard bodies hit the floor. I froze in panic and I could hear Pepper and Tony gasping above me. Apparently, Natalie had just K.O. Happy in the ring. I decided to never be discovered by that woman.

She soon left and Pepper did too. When we were finally alone, Pepper reached inside her pocket and I held on tight to one of her fingers so she could take me out. She held me right in front of her face and her great big eyes were scanning me.

"Are you feeling well? You don't look so well."

I didn't feel well. I was nauseous and dizzy from the pocket ride. "Just promise to not ever do that again."

"I'm so sorry! It was on impulse and there wasn't anywhere else to hide you in..."

I just nodded and shut my eyes. I felt her gently extend her palm and was grateful for lying on my back on a soft flat surface.

"So how is Natalie Rushman?"

"Young, pretty, perfect… she might just be the one for the job."

"Considering she can kick his ass if he so much as touches hers may be a point in her favor."

I was feeling better so I stood up. "Guess you don't have to keep searching. But doesn't it seem a little… off?"

"Off?"

"Yeah, I mean she could get any other job she wants and well…"

She lifted an eyebrow. "Well what?"

"Nothing." It was still very suspicious.

"Well I've got to go to the Monaco's race in France and set up everything for a meeting there and…"

"Can I come?"  
She stopped listing off everything she needed to get done and looked down at me. "You want to come?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I mean I always wanted to travel to other countries."

"I guess you can come but you have to stay hidden and with Tony or me at all times."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course." Inside I was feeling giddy. Even if I had seen all types of places with my mom before, the rush of discovering a new place came to me.

"When are we leaving?"

_Line break_

I barely felt the flight or maybe I was just so used to the rocking since it was a lot like when I was in the shoulder of Pepper or Tony. When we arrived, Natalie greeted us. From the confines of Pepper's pocket, I could hear and sometimes see what was happening around me. I heard the conversations going above me and felt a little uneasy. One false move and all this humans would notice me. I shuddered and turned my attention back to gather info about my surroundings.

Pepper had finally stopped in the bar and was talking to Tony. A new human joined the conversation and I quietly groaned. It was that asshole of Justin Hammer.

Hammer went on and on trying to show off in front of the reporter slut, who was slightly familiar, and she was clearly not interested on him. Even I felt the awkwardness and tension in the air. Thankfully Pepper walked away. She went to the bathroom and took me out to stretch a bit. The moment I was out I felt better for the increase of space.

"Is that guy Justin Hammer stalking Tony or what?" Seriously, he appeared at the worst moments.

"I don't know, but what are the odds that we would run into him?" The door of the bathroom started to open again and Pepper quickly put me in her pocket again. She was more careful this time but that didn't mean that I had to like it. From the voice, I could tell it was Natalie. How could a woman have such an accurate sense of timing to enter the room when I was out in the open?

When we came back Tony was nowhere to be seen. Hint number one that Tony was going to do something incredibly stupid.

"Where could Tony have gone to?" I whisper shouted to Pepper. Then I noticed the oxymoron I just created and ignored it.

From the screens, live footage came from the Monaco race that was about to start. Out of nowhere, Tony appeared. Hint number two that Tony was about to do something incredibly stupid.

While Pepper called for Natalie, my eyes were glued to the screen. The original racer was kicked out because of Tony and he took his place. What the heck? Was Tony going all YOLO on us now?

I shook out of sheer anger for his reckless behavior. If he got himself killed, I would revive him myself so I could kill him myself.

The race had barely started when a guy started walking in the middle of the race tracks without a care in the world. What was this, international day of the imbecile?

Suddenly, his shirt turned to ashes and showed underneath a sort of machine appeared strapped to his chest. The front looked like a bastardized version of the Ironman suit but two metal tendrils stuck out of his wrists. As a car got closer, the tendrils sparked with electricity and its owner lashed at it. The tendrils cut cleaned through the car and the man was unfazed by what he just did. People started to panic around us and my preoccupation grew.

Pepper suddenly stood and her quick movements made me lose my balance. I could no longer watch what was happening but I guessed that Happy had come with the Ironman suitcase. We rushed to the car and raced to the track. As Happy pressed the accelerator, I couldn't help but wonder how Tony got stuck with the psycho killers.

**Natasha finally appears! She's my favorite female Avenger (not much since there are only two) so I'll try to make her justice. **


	4. Tell me where it hurts

We were racing the wrong way in the tracks but Happy didn't seem to care. Pepper was thrown from side to side in the backseat and I was bouncing in all possible directions inside her pocket. I couldn't tell where left, right, up or down were anymore.

There was screaming and smoke in the air. When we finally stopped, I was so dizzy I could have passed out right there and then. All I could hear was Pepper freaking out and Tony bitching about something, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

I was starting to regain my senses when we moved again. I was thrust back and forth and Tony was yelling to Pepper to pass him the suitcase. Pepper was too freaked out and I screamed at her to get her moving.

"THE SUITCASE PEPPER!"

She snapped out of it and threw the Ironman suitcase out of the window. And then we were moving again. Damn it, I want to stay still for a moment!

I couldn't take it anymore and blacked out.

_Line Break_

I woke up to the smell of antiseptic. I could smell it coming from a gigantic bottle beside me. I was confused as to why I was on top of a dresser in a hotel room until it all came back to me in a flash. I looked around in a frenzy searching for Tony but Pepper entered the room instead.

"Tony, Pepper; where is Tony?!"

"Shh, calm down, Tony is alright. He caught the man and the Interpol has him on custody." She tried to get me to relax but I wanted to see how Tony was.

She took me to a room in which Tony was working in some screens. I ran to his neck as soon as she placed me near his shoulder. I hugged as much of him as I could with my arms and I felt his hand covering me. I heard him saying something soothing but I was just so relieved that he was ok and tears fell from my eyes. I stepped away from his neck and started punching it instead.

"Hey!"

"Never do that again! You scared the crap out of Pepper and me!" I was furious at him and my relieved tears turned to angry ones instead.

"Ouch! Ok, ok I'm sorry!"

I stopped punching his neck and wiped my tears. "Good."

His hand came in front of him and was rubbing his neck where I stood before.

"Damn, those tiny punches kinda hurt."

I crossed my arms. "Well that's what you get for being stupid."

I sat down and looked interested at what he was working. "What are you doing?"

"Bipolar much? I'm finding out more about our mysterious terrorist."

I read more about what he had on the screens and frowned. "This guy looks pretty messed up."

"He is. That's why I'm going to interrogate him."

"What?!"

Was he suicidal? Well he was, but that's beside the point.

"Why do you want to be near him again? I mean, surely there must be someone already profiling him or something like in those criminal series…"

"Yeah and that's me. Also, don't call me Shirley."

His joke fell flat and before I could make any type of resistance, his hand shot up and grabbed me. I hated when Tony held me without warning and showed my discomfort by glaring at him. It may not be as threatening considering I was between his fingers.

He put me on his desk and I ran to the edge and jumped. Before he could reach out for me again I grabbed his shirt fabric and clung to him.

"Oh no mister, you're not going to go anywhere. Last time we left you alone, you ended up in an international car race and in danger _again_."

He sighed and the movement made me rise and fall a little. I felt his fingers gently tugging at me from my midsection. I was not going to let him get himself almost killed again if I could prevent it. I tried holding on as tight as I could but he had an obvious advantage against me. I was placed in a higher placer than before and I crossed my arms.

"Sorry, Max but I really need to know where he got the design of that Ironman suit wannabe. You won't even notice I was gone."

He turned his back to me and left. The worst thing was that I couldn't stop him at all.

**Short one but more angst coming in later chapters! I want to thank fuelforthefunnyfarm for reviewing since it helps my writing and plot writing. **


	5. Lost Cause

**Sorry for the late update but schoolwork caught up with me. Shout out to everyone who reviewed, follows or favorites this story! **

Tony P.o.v. (been a while…)

On the flight back home, I tried to cook for Pepper. It was the only distraction I had onboard other than watching people on TV talk about me like if I didn't have a TV to begin with.

On TV, the same bastard Senator was talking and I muted it. Pepper was on her PDA and Max was sleeping on the table in front of her. As she slept, she looked so peaceful. I wished she looked like this all the time.

I carefully moved her with my knuckle to make way to the absolutely disgusting meal I made.

"You made this?"

"Yup, where did you think I was these last three hours?" I smirked. Pepper wasn't amused and instead looked worried.

"Tony… what are you not telling me?" I sighed, not liking where she was going.

"I don't want to go home." And I really didn't want to go. I wanted to party, to drink… I wanted to live.

Even if I tried coercing Pepper into doing something like that, I knew it was useless. Pepper was always the responsible type. My birthday was coming soon and I felt dread than actual excitement. I wanted to feel alive again and there was only one way I knew how to do it.

_Line Break_

Max's P.o.v.

I always knew Tony was really into wild parties, drinking and being a party animal but this was ridiculous. For the last week or so, Tony spent every day doing reckless and impulsive decisions (well more than usual). He barely worked in any of his projects anymore and didn't talk to any of his friends. Even I didn't have a chance to see him or talk to him 'cause he was always surrounded by strangers.

For his birthday he had invited almost every single person that lived in Malibu, plus a lot of people that I didn't think even lived in the country. I had to barricade the room where my small house was and couldn't leave for food (thank Gouda I had food in reserve).

The noise of the party could be heard from where I was. I groaned in annoyance as there were more shouts. I had given up sleep at the beginning of the night and tried to at least get some work done down at the lab. But it was very difficult to concentrate with the zoo going outside. Note the annoyance, the really deep annoyance.

The shouts were getting louder and weren't stopping. Just what was going on outside?

Suddenly the mansion shook like there was an earthquake happening. I stumbled and fell from the tremors. Holy crap, what was that?! I made my way outside, but not without some difficulty from the sporadic shakes. Once outside, I shouted out to Jarvis.

"Jarvis, what's happening?!"

Before he could answer, there was a crash coming from one of the walls. Dust and pieces of wall flew all over and I was knocked to my side from the sheer force of it. I coughed and shielded my eyes from all the dust. I heard groans and metal clanking above me. I tried to move to the balcony but I could barely walk from the shakes. When the air cleared enough for me to see, I paled at what I saw. On the other side of the room, Tony was fighting another of his Ironman suits. Even if I couldn't see who was wearing the other suit, I had a feeling it was Rhodey underneath it. He had a tendency to use Tony's suits, especially the bulky platinum one.

I had to act fast or I was going to be crushed under those metal titans. They couldn't possibly hear me from the ground, what with all the fighting going on between them.

I kept on trying to get to the balcony when out of nowhere a piece of wall flew and hit me from the side. I gasped in pain and fell on my knees. I looked at my arm and just by watching it hung limply on its socket I could tell it was dislocated. I grabbed it with my good arm and kept my pace.

Another earthquake and they moved to another room. I sighed in relief. I had never feared Tony before but after what just happened around me, I felt scared of him. He had promised never to hurt me before but tonight he did. And he didn't even know I was here, let alone that he could have almost killed me.

I finally reached the balcony and stayed there for safety measures, just in case Tony decided to come back. After I heard the fight quiet down, I went back to my house.

I just wanted to go to sleep after tonight, but I had to fix my arm first. I took a deep breath and prepared myself.

"This is so going to hurt tomorrow."

And then I hit the wall with my shoulder.

I shouted out as it popped back in its place. I flexed my hand to try it out and I could sort of move it. I didn't bother to change or clean up and collapsed in the sofa. I just wanted this day to be over soon.

**Finally got time to update. Angst coming! Not Spider-man level, but enough to keep the story going ;)**


	6. Turn the Page

I woke up the next day feeling like crap. And that was before breakfast.

I took my sweet time going through my morning routine. As I got dressed, I thought back on what happened yesterday. Tony was acting like a real butthead and the only way he would stop was making him work on something productive. Anything really, considering the last few days he only distracted himself on wasting as much money as he could, and since he was a multi freaking billionaire, money almost rained for him.

I wrapped my arm and when I looked on the mirror, I could tell for the first time how bad off I really was. I had bruises and cuts all over and under my eyes were bags that went beyond what was normal. God, I looked awful.

"Jarvis, is Tony in the mansion?"

"Yes Miss Runner, he's currently in the work lab unconscious."

"Thanks Jarvis."

Before I went down, I decided on putting make up for the first time in my life. I never really had much interest on it before. I thought it to be a waste of time, and who would even look at me that way for me to need it? I wasn't intending on using it to cover what Tony did to me yesterday, but I just wanted to hide the bags under my eyes. The last thing I wanted was to Tony be aware of how much I actually worried about him.

Packing my borrower bag and putting on my personalized Ironmanchick suit, I headed downstairs to meet with Tony.

When I landed on the floor next to his unconscious form in the floor, I was able to see him closely for the first time in a long time. If I looked bad, he looked like he had been hit by a truck. It was starting to really show how much the Reactor was affecting him. The veins on his neck were black and looked like black tendrils reaching to his face. His skin was ashen gray and his hair no longer shined like it used to. He could have passed as a zombie (not the Walking Dead type, more of the Warm Bodies kind of zombie).

I walked over to his arm and flew up to his chest. The flame of my suit barely smoked his clothes as I passed by. I landed on his chest, the Reactor and his face right in front of me. Using the megaphone setting of my suit, I hollered back at him.

"Rise and shine sweetheart!"

His eyes snapped open and he flinched from the volume. Due to past experiences, I barely even stumbled. When he looked down at me, I took off my mask and glared at him with an intensity that would have made Pepper proud.

"You know, we've got to stop meeting up like this."

I kept glaring at him. "You remember what happened last night?"

"Well, there was my awesome birthday party, a lot of booze, and this blondie that had the most amazing pair of…"

I gritted my teeth. "Not that part. Let me refresh your memory. Last night, Rhodey came and you two had a pretty big fight."

"Oh yeah, when Rhodey crashed my party. Now that you remind me, I really need to put a password on my suits…"

"You two imbeciles almost demolished half the mansion and crushed me during the fight. Even when I knew how wild you could get sometimes, I never believed you to be that kind of stupid." He opened his mouth, no doubt to say a smart*** response but I kept going. "You've been reckless, irresponsible and going all YOLO on me. And that's why we're going out, act like two mature people and get some breakfast."

He again tried to speak but I lifted one finger to shut him up. "No excuses. You're going to go get dressed and decent, without any booze. If you're not ready to go in half an hour, I'm making Jarvis lock all of your suits and tell me where you got all your booze. And for the love of God, take a bath."

When I was done, he just blinked. "You've been spending way too much time with Pepper."

"Yes, yes I have." She gave me the ropes on Stark 101. Plus, my own stress ball.

I got off his chest propelled myself all the way up the stairs. "I'll be waiting in the living room!"

When I got there, I got comfortable on the sofa and turned the TV. Sitting on a cushion and a gigantic IMAX screen in front of me, I relaxed for the first time in days. This was going to be a good day, I could just feel it.

True to my orders (or maybe fear for his booze) he got himself half decent and didn't smell half as bad as before. He had another suit on but at least this time I knew he was wearing pants underneath so I counted it as a win.

"Let's go mini Pepper."

"All right Tin man."

With breakfast I hadn't meant doughnuts, but I wasn't complaining. Sitting on a ginormous doughnut, I was eating a slightly less gigantic doughnut. We were both relaxing on the doughnut top of a doughnut shop, when someone started talking to Tony. Tony got down and went inside with them while I hid inside one of the Ironman pockets.

Now I really don't remember everything they said but the gist of it was this. Tony's father, Howard, helped create a super-secret spy organization that had been tracking Tony since the Afghanistan incident and decided that he was too stupid/reckless to be trusted with the Ironman suit while he was dying. So the obvious answer was to make him work the cure because no one was as smart as him to figure it out. And you know; he was kinda dying so that was enough pressure to get him to work. After that, the Director of said spy organization (let's call it S.H.I.E.L.D.) knocked him out.

Wow, why didn't I think of doing that? Maybe because it sounds like something out of a James Bond movie what with all the super-secret spy business. Or maybe it's just me.

I heard him leave and when I thought the coast was clear, I came out. As fast as lightning, a hand grabbed me and when I looked to the owner of said hand I looked directly at Natalie Rushman. And all I could think it that moment was two words.

Oh s**t.

**Late as ever, but nevertheless it's here! **


	7. The Best that You can Do

I paced to one side. I stood there looking at the wall for about five minutes and then turned to where I was before. I had kept this routine for about three hours now and I think it would go on longer.

After Natasha had caught me (because apparently that was her real name) I'd been put in a cage. Technically it was more of an aquarium, but back to the situation in hand.

I'd been ignored for the most part of my imprisonment which is in itself a miracle. I would have thought they would be dissecting me and trying to torture me into revealing all my secrets. Maybe this is their form of torture, boredom to death. If it was, it was working.

I was in the brink of trying to claw my way out when a man stepped in the lab I was currently in. He seemed really businesslike, what with the suit and the shades he had on. I was suddenly reminded of the subway scene in Men in Black and for a moment I thought I would have my memories erased. Then I remembered I was the freak here so that wouldn't have made any sense.

"What's your name?"

Snapping back to reality, I realized the guy was now sitting in front of the aquarium.

"Max, Max Runner." I turned to him, trying to determine if he was a threat or not. He was very calm, so kudos to him.

"I'm Agent Coulson and I'm going to ask you some questions. Answer them and I'll let you out." Yeah, right.

"Shoot."

"Why were you with Tony Stark?"

I shuffled nervously. "I'm a friend of his."

The man just nodded and I didn't know if that was a good sign or not.

"What… species are you?" Wow, second question. That's got to be a record.

I took a long and deep breath. "In case you're wondering if I'm some sort of mythical, magical or extraterrestrial being, I'm not. I don't have any magic or special abilities. I was just born this small."

After meeting Tony (and Pepper), I came up with a better explanation when meeting other humans. I didn't know how many of us were out there but I wasn't about to rat us out.

The man just nodded again. He asked me about Tony and me, but most of the questions were surprisingly standard. I was expecting him to ask anything, from fairy dust to shrink rays. Before I knew it, the interrogatory was over and Coulson was taking me out.

I was enjoying my time out of prison when a jar was placed on top of me.

"Oh come on!"

"Watch your head."

That was all the warning he gave me before flipping the jar. I was sent tumbling to the bottom. I hated when people did that.

The lid screw shut on top of my head and I was effectively trapped. I sunk to the bottom and suddenly I missed the spaciousness of the aquarium.

_Line Break_

3rd P.o.v.

Tony was trapped in his work lab. Trapped might not be the best way to describe it. He was held against his will in his own lab inside his own mansion. And what was worst, they took away all of his alcohol. He would never forgive that bastard of Nick Fury. In the back of his mind, he was sure he was forgetting something.

"Hey Tony!"

"Hey Max!" He turned to greet Max. Max, who was sitting on Natasha's shoulder wearing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s emblem on her shirt? Something felt wrong.

"I was just dropping her here, so don't think you're off the hook Stark." Natasha put her down on the table. "Watch out for him for me, would you?"

"Sure!" And then she was off.

"What the hell was that?!"

Max ignored him and checked out what he was doing. "So what have you been doing here?"

"While you were gone I was busy with a lot of work and researching and inventing…"

"You got nothing."

"Yeah."

Dodging the things on the table, she made her way to the screens.

"You searched for everything your dad worked on, right?"

He stared at her. "No because I'm an idiot. What do you think?" 

"Sorry, I didn't know you had your sassy pants on. I was saying that just maybe you missed something, because you have to admit your dad made a lot of stuff."

"I know he was great inventor, but in case my father could secretly see the future, I'm not so sure on him predicting me needing a better way to keep off shrapnel from my heart and not die." You didn't need to see the future for that one.

"Maybe you weren't looking hard enough. Remember that video you showed me of your dad in an Expo showing off "the perfect city"? He must have done something that was in large scale and for the future. I mean, if he thought he could make 'Stark City' a thing…"

"Wait, what did you say?" He wasn't looking at me anymore and was instead messing with the screens I was currently using.

I moved out of the way because he had entered the zone where no borrower came out safe and unharmed. "I was saying that your dad could have planned something for the future that you could use…"

"Not that, the other thing."

"Stark City? Are you going to name a city after you? I don't know how popular that would be, but I don't think we should be focusing on that."

"I remember that video. My father was talking about a self-sustaining Utopia, but the energy he was talking about…" He pulled the video on screen and while we watched I started to get an idea of where he was going. Unconsciously, I came closer to him.

Tony stopped the video and zoomed in on the energy tower. Both of them digitally tweaked it, trying to find the schemes that made up his dad's idea and working out the details on how to make it practical. After hours of working, drinking (coffee and Red Bull) and eating junk food, they pulled back with stiff necks but a sense of satisfaction. Max reclined back on her makeshift beanie bag (that was actually a bag of Cheetos) and Tony did the same but in an actual beanie bag.

"I guess this means you're not gonna die anytime now, huh?"

Tony sighed. "I guess not."

**I just realized I can only write humor, angst and gore. Mmmh… Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**


	8. My Iron Lung

Max P.o.v.

"I can't remember which Taylor is a girl. Is it Swift or Lautner?"

Tony and I hadn't slept in… Hell, I couldn't remember the last time we had more than 15 minutes of sleep. And that was only because I'd passed out from exhaustion.

Tony was just about finished while I watched. He lifted tubes of metal that I could possibly only lift with a metal claw. Hehehe, maybe I could ask Tony one to try it out. God, I needed sleep.

"Aaand done." Tony declared victoriously after the last piece was in place.

"Does this mean what I think it means?"

"If by that you mean that I'm ready to change my Arc for the new element I just created, then yeah." I actually meant if we could go eat something 'cause I was starving. But this worked too.

"You want me to do it? You know, just in case?"

"Eh, what the heck. I think I have trained you well my little grasshopper." He placed a hand as a platform for me to get on. I wasn't going to comment on the cleanness of it (which was non-existent) because my face said it all.

Sitting down, he placed me in his chest. Gripping the new Reactor between his index and thumb, Tony passed it down to me. I began the careful job of replacing it while Tony watched TV. He crossed his arms and I was grateful because if I fell I wouldn't want to land on his lap.

It all suddenly felt a little dejá-vù.

"Doesn't this remind you of something?" Aah, good times. To think I used to be afraid of meeting this dork.

I looked up when Tony didn't respond with any sass or sarcasm. All I could see was his stubble and part of his face but it was obvious that he was focused on the screen. I turned and watched as Rhodes made what was possibly his biggest mistake of the year.

"No." Tony had that look on his face. The look that meant he was going to do something very stupid and impulsive but would probably end up with him being an American superhero. Yeah, it was that look and he still wasn't looking at me.

"Tony, look at me." He kept ignoring me, so I climbed up his chest and kicked his chin. Surprised, he finally looked down at me. I crossed my arms and glared at him.

"I know what you're thinking, but no."

"I'm just about ready…"

"Yeah, just about. That's not completely ready."

"With the Ironman suit…"

"With the Ironman suit, you're gonna get killed if you go out like this."

He opened his mouth to try and argue some more but I cut him off yet again.

"You're not gonna move your ass until I've finished setting the new Arc. Once I've finished, you can go shoot and fight all the people you want, but so help me God if you get yourself killed 'cause I'll bring your dead body here and beat you back to life. Are we clear?"

He blinked once and then he smiled. "I think you're spending too much time with Pepper."

"And Natasha. She taught me new moves so don't try and pull off any weird suicidal stunts."

He stared amusingly at me and chuckled. "If you say so."

Tony was going to regret that later. Meanwhile, I had to patch him up. If he was going to kick some ass, he needed to have his in relative shape.

I finished placing the last wiring on his chest when he stood up. I yelped in surprise and held into his new Reactor. He plucked me sloppily and left me in the table. I hated when he did that.

"I swear if you didn't have to leave…"

"We would be watching recaps of Friends." Jarvis immediately assembled the suit on top of him. "Don't wait too late for me, honey."

And then he was off. Idiot, but he was a hero. I went over to the bed I had on the lab and tried to catch some sleep before he came back. After lying there wondering and worrying about Tony, I knew it was useless.

"Jarvis, set up the link with the Ironman suit and another screen with any footage caught of the Expo. And prepare me a cup of coffee." This was going to be a long night.

_Line Break_

I must have fallen asleep, or unconscious, at some point 'cause next thing I knew I was waking up at the sound of Tony landing. I groggily sat up with a stiff back and through the haze I distinguished Tony and Pepper.

"You're baack." My voice sounded like hell. I felt relief flooding, waking me up slowly as my mind processed what was going on.

"I see you were kicking back while I almost got killed out there." Tony put Pepper down and smirked down at me. He looked like his suit had seen better times and don't get me started on how he looked. There were cuts, bruises and what looked like mud (I hoped) all over him. I could only guess what kind of mess he'd gotten into this time.

"I finished patching you up only for you to get back in a worse shape than you were before? That's it. Pepper from now on you'll be the one kissing his booboos."

"Oh she'll be kissing more than that I'm sure." Tony smirked and Pepper groaned. I squinted suspiciously at them while I tried to work out what he implied.

"Wait, you're not…" I gasped dramatically. "OH MY GOD, YOU TOTALLY ARE! YOU'RE TOGETHER! I KNEW IT! YOU'RE TOTALLY TOGETHER!"

I jumped out of my chair, all sleep forgotten from this shocking news. "I HAVE TO CALL NATASHA AND CLINT AND BE THE FIRST ONE TO TELL THEM!"

I ran to the nearest phone that I could actually use while leaving behind an amused Tony and a Pepper that couldn't handle any more action for that day.

"Someone took that news rather well."

Pepper just turned and climbed the stairs for the upper bedrooms. They hadn't worked their sleeping arrangements yet but she thought it was okay with Tony for her to sleep in the mansion for this night. Without thinking on how her life with Tony was going to be now, she dropped to the bed and fell fast asleep.

"CLINT, SUCK IT AND PAY UP!"

**Woah, it's been a long time since I updated. Stupid senior year… But I finally could squeeze some time to write a new chapter! Happy soon to be Valentine's Day! (I plan on spending that day eating cake and throwing the diet through the window).**

**One or two more chapter until the Avengers!**


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